In anticipation of the new requirements under the controversial criminal justice bill, Major Jeff Connor with the Madison County Sheriff’s Department told the Judiciary Committee that it would cost the county more than $800,000 to provide mandated body cameras.
Connor explained during the May 7 meeting that House Bill 3653, which was signed into law by Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Feb. 22, places an unfunded mandate on body cameras. He said that according to the way it is written, the Sheriff’s Department would be the first law enforcement agency in Madison County to implement the requirements.
Connor said the Sheriff’s Department has 85 sworn officers who would need body cameras. Over a four-year term, the cameras, software and servers would cost more than $800,000. The department has until July 2023 to adhere to the mandates.
He added that the department has been communicating with the Madison County State’s Attorney’s Office to assist in interpreting the laws.
Committee Chair Mike Walters asked how the criminal justice law and proposed criminal justice bills requiring officers to purchase liability insurance could impact interest in law enforcement as a career.
Connor said the numbers speak for themselves. He explained that only 15 people turned in applications for the most recent round of police testing. They typically see more than 40 people turn in applications.
“It’s very trying to recruit people to be in law enforcement right now,” he said.
Walters said the “terrible” bill was a political stunt by former Illinois House Speaker Mike Madigan.
“It just was a horrendous bill that was rushed through,” he said.
House Bill 3653 originated as House Bill 163 and was filed by Edwardsville Rep. Katie Stuart in December. She previously said the new version of the bill bears no resemblance to the one she originally filed.
House Bill 163, which Stuart sponsored in the House, related to changes to prescription drug monitoring linked to the ongoing opioid epidemic, the representative said in a statement last month. After the bill passed in the House, Chicago Sen. Elgie Sims Jr. changed the nature of the bill with a 600-page amendment.
The amended 764-page bill was passed by the Illinois Senate in the early hours of Jan. 13 during a lame-duck session under the new number House Bill 3653. It was then sent to Pritzker, who signed it into law on Feb. 22 despite bipartisan criticism.
State’s Attorney Tom Haine, a Republican, and Madison County Sheriff John Lakin, a Democrat, previously issued a bi-partisan joint statement saying the bill “effectively destroys law enforcement and criminal prosecution as we know it.”
They said the bill "significantly" limits when offenders can be detained; prohibits pre-trial detention when an offender poses a general danger, allowing it only when officials can prove danger to a specific person; limits accountability for accomplices to murder by amending the felony murder rule; and removes multiple due process protections for police officers while also exposing them to new civil liability.